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Languages in dreams

When I first started searching about this topic, my first idea was to explore how bilingualism
or multilingualism may affect the dreams of a beholder. My colleague gave me this
inspiration when they told me about their dream. The dream was placed in Japan and they
were speaking Dutch since, before this university, they were studying in the Netherlands.
They do not speak the language but in their dream, they were speaking it flawlessly. There
were cases where people who are not proficient in their second language were suddenly
fluent in their dreams. Dream psychologists and mostly neuroscientists state that the reason
behind that phenomenon lies in the prefrontal area of the brain, which is responsible for
reality checks and is shut down while asleep. “The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a central
role in cognitive control functions, and dopamine in the PFC modulates cognitive control,
thereby influencing attention, impulse inhibition, prospective memory, and cognitive
flexibility.” (taken from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/prefrontal-cortex

https://www.flintrehab.com/prefrontal-cortex-damage/

I also have another example where my younger sister and my other colleague told me they
are dreaming in English, not Croatian. From the source:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/05/when-you-speak-15-languages-which-do-you-
dream-in/ I’ve read that people usually dream in their native tongue when the dream is more
emotional and that they dream in their second language when the dream is more work
orientated. I’m not sure how I agree with this since my younger sister speaks mainly English
rather than Croatian so the language in her dreams may vary on which language she spoke the
most throughout the day. That is also stated in the first source where a high-level Swedish
economist, who is also multilingual, said:” … he dreamed in whatever language he was
speaking that day, even if the dreams were about his family of origin in Sweden.”
In the article, the author thinks that “dreams are just a way of thinking in a different
biological state where areas associated with visualization and emotion are more active.”
Therefore, we don’t make sense of the language since the part of the brain that contains areas
of logic and verbal areas are “shut down”. “There are a few theories that say dreams are there
for memory consolidation, threat simulation, and wish fulfillment. And yes, they’re for all
that and a million other things, just like our waking thought.”

After this, I wondered if there are any differences in dreams between those who have all five
senses and those who don't, as well as whether those who are deaf, blind or both experience
language in dreams in a similar way to us or whether they can communicate in sign language
in their dreams. I discovered that the dreams of deaf people are significantly more visual and
that they differ between people who are born deaf and people who became deaf later in life.
Those who lost their hearing later in life may still occasionally have auditory elements in
their dreams, which could be anything from brief flashes of sound to full-on auditory
recreations. Because of their heightened perception of color, vividness, and spatial depth,
people who are born deaf are more likely to experience nightmares and lucid dreams.
Furthermore, Deaf participants reported more taste, smell, pain, temperature, hope, anger,
fear, and tense feelings. (taken from: https://www.lingvano.com/asl/blog/how-deaf-people-
dream/ )

This is all fascinating but it did not answer my question about sign language in dreams.
Fortunately, I discovered a reference to a 2017 study that describes a 71-year-old man with
severe hearing loss and a 'rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder'. The man was
observed signing fluently after losing paralysis during REM sleep. By decoding his signs, the
researchers were able to figure out what he was dreaming about. This proves that people who
have learned sign language may on occasion use it during their sleep. (taken from:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/do-deaf-people-do-sign-language-in-their-sleep/ )
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684558/ -> didn’t find about the language
component just that deaf people experience more traumatic events and therefore dream
more nightmares. -> still an interesting fact

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8482230/ -> honestly no idea what it said but

it sounds interesting lol
https://aclanthology.org/W17-3102.pdf -> book about it